The Great Bell of Dhammazedi

The Great Bell of Dhammazedi

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The Great Bell of Dhammazedi was cast in the late 15th century by order of King Dhammazedi of the Burmese kingdom Hanthawaddy, and presented to the Shwedagon Pagoda of Dagon, in present day Yangon, Myanmar. Made of copper, gold and silver, the bell was reported to have weighed nearly 300 tonnes —the largest bell ever cast.

Twenty four years later, in 1608, the fearful Portuguese warlord and mercenary Filipe de Brito sacked the pagoda and seized the bell with the intention of melting it down to make cannons for his ship. De Brito loaded the bell onto a raft for the journey across the Pazundaung Creek to Syriam. Unsurprisingly, the bell proved too heavy for the clumsy raft and it sank at the point where the Bago and Yangon Rivers met.



An artwork of the Great Bell of Dhammazedi. Photo credit: unknown

photofun4ucom Pada July 22, 2016 Komentar

The Sound Mirrors of Great Britain

The Sound Mirrors of Great Britain

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World War One was the first major conflict that saw the use of airplanes. During the early years of the fighting, aircraft were mostly used for surveillance and observation, but as the war progressed, airplanes took on an offensive role. By the end of the war, airplanes had become so deadly that it became necessary for the Allies to develop new tactics for air defense, if the next war was to be won.

The most important ingredient of an effective air defense system is an early warning system that could detect and track enemy aircraft before they arrive. But in the days before radar, the only way to detect enemy aircraft was to listen to the sound of approaching airplanes.



Photo credit: Paul/Flickr

photofun4ucom Pada July 21, 2016 Komentar